Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Sacks!

Hey, remember when Mike Sacks was going to ask Martin Scorsese about my theory concerning a scene in THE KING OF COMEDY and its possible relationship to a scene in Vincent Minelli's THE CLOCK? That was almost exactly TWO YEARS AGO, and Mike Sacks has not forgotten. No word from Mr. Scorsese yet, but MIKE SACKS ASKED ROGER EBERT ABOUT IT in the course of an interview. That's dedication! Mike Sacks is the definition of a trouper. Here is a portion of Mr. Ebert's response: "Nothing gets into a Scorsese film by carelessness. I have no doubt he directed that shot very specifically. Few directors have ever equaled Scorsese's knowledge of the cinema, and so I also have no doubt he saw and noted the scene by Minnelli. I doubt, however, that he would ever introduce such a potential distraction simply as homage. My guess is, he noticed it, remembered it, and encountered a situation in one of his own films where it served one of his own purposes." A thoughtful answer, if inconclusive. Sacks! (Pictured, KING OF COMEDY's cardboard cut-outs of Vincent Minnelli's daughter with CLOCK star Judy Garland - COINCIDENCE? - and Jerry!)